jespah@milton.u.washington.edu (Kathleen Hunt) (11/25/90)
Hi, everyone. I am currently involved in a wimpy little class project which involves identifying songs, calls, and other misc. noises made by winter residents in Seattle parks. I am relatively new to id'ing bird song, especially western birds (though luckily the common species are much the same as in the east for winter residents), and I'm having trouble with those damn little mixed flocks. I've got no problem if they would only sing their little songs or call their little calls, but when they just sit up there going "ee ee ee" I have an awful hard time telling apart golden-crowned kinglets, ruby-crowned kinglets, black-capped chickadees, and chestnut-backed chickadees. I seem to be able to hear slight differences in the peeps, but I don't know if that's just individual variation or if there are really reliable differences among the species. Does anyone have any suggestions? (P.S. the time is long past when I could have LOOKED at the birds...what I am doing now is listening to tapes made weeks ago.) There is one bird that seems to be doing a rapid, chittering version of the "ee ee ee", and there's another bird that goes "eee eee" with a relatively long pause. Does that ring any bells for anyone? Also, for chickadees, can I expect that they will at some point actually say "chick-a-dee"? or is it common for chickadees to go for a long time just saying "ee ee ee" without any "chick-a-dee"? Boy, I thought I knew black-cappeds inside out, but now I realize there are all these little details I've forgotten to notice about them. And while I have your undivided attention :-), I would like to confirm differences in the "chick-a-dees". Seems that the black-cappeds, the ones I am most familiar with, have a full-bodied, rather deep "chick-a-dee-dee- dee-dee" usually with several throaty dee's. The chestnut-backed (the ones I am unfamiliar with since I never saw them back east) seem to be have higher voices and have a shorter call, just "chick-a-dee" with one dee, and the dee is sort of buzzy. Have I got that right? Finally, there is a wren around here that goes "chuck-chuck chuck-chuck chuck-chuck-chuck chuck-chuck" on and on, with the chucks usually in twos or sometimes threes. I could never get a look at the little guys because they were way down in the underbrush. I've heard a rumor that Winter Wrens sound like this, which would make sense since I also heard Winter Wren songs now and then, but I am curious to know if other wrens -- specifically the Bewick's Wren -- have notes anything like this. I've got a couple bird song tapes, but they are not much help because they only have examples of full song or complete calls, not these little contact notes and miscellaneous chatters and whatnot. I've been considering getting Birding By Ear, western version (I have the eastern) but $35!!!!! is a little much for a couple cassettes and a booklet. If it has all the misc. noises, though, I'd invest in it. Anyone out there have any comments on Birding By Ear, western version? Thanks for any info... P.S. Saw a sharpie go after a flicker on one of these taping expeditions. Flicker got away. Pretty cool! Jespah
dmark@acsu.buffalo.edu (David Mark) (11/26/90)
In article <11634@milton.u.washington.edu> jespah@milton.u.washington.edu (Kathleen Hunt) writes: > >Hi, everyone. ... ... ... I'm having trouble >with those damn little mixed flocks. I've got no problem if they would >only sing their little songs or call their little calls, but when they >just sit up there going "ee ee ee" I have an awful hard time telling apart >golden-crowned kinglets, ruby-crowned kinglets, black-capped chickadees, >and chestnut-backed chickadees. I seem to be able to hear slight differences >in the peeps, but I don't know if that's just individual variation or if >there are really reliable differences among the species. Does anyone have >any suggestions? The "ee ee ee" is Golden-crowned Kinglets. The chickadees do little 'twit' and so on notes, and occasionally full "chick-a-dee" calls. I don't remember if one can readily tell the contact calls of CBC and BCC apart, although their "chick-a-dee" calls are "easy when you know how. >.... and there's another bird that goes "eee eee" with a relatively >long pause. Does that ring any bells for anyone? That is Brown Creeper. > >And while I have your undivided attention :-), I would like to confirm >differences in the "chick-a-dees". Seems that the black-cappeds, the ones >I am most familiar with, have a full-bodied, rather deep "chick-a-dee-dee- >dee-dee" usually with several throaty dee's. The chestnut-backed (the ones >I am unfamiliar with since I never saw them back east) seem to be have >higher voices and have a shorter call, just "chick-a-dee" with one dee, and >the dee is sort of buzzy. Have I got that right? Just the opposite in my recollection. Chestnut-backs' "chick-a-dee" calls are much deeper and "huskier" [especially on the UW campus :-)] Chestnut-backs also more often do a "dee-dee-dee" without the leading "chick-a" (in my recollection-- I live in Buffalo now, but grew up in Vancouver, BC). David Mark dmark@acsu.buffalo.edu
wvenable@spam.ua.oz.au (Bill Venables) (11/26/90)
In article <11634@milton.u.washington.edu> jespah@milton.u.washington.edu (Kathleen Hunt) writes: > ... I have an awful hard time telling apart golden-crowned kinglets, > ruby-crowned kinglets, black-capped chickadees, and chestnut-backed > chickadees. Chikadees?? You mean there *IS* a real bird called a chikadee? I thought that was just something W. C. Fields used to call Mae West. Sorry. Go back to work. I won't do it anymore. :-) -- Bill Venables, Dept. of Statistics, | Email: venables@spam.adelaide.edu.au Univ. of Adelaide, South Australia. | Phone: +61 8 228 5412
A.S.Chamove@massey.ac.nz (A.S. Chamove) (11/26/90)
I think a chickadee is what the rest of the rest of the world calls a Tit. -- ----------------------------------------------------------------- Arnold Chamove Massey University Psychology Palmerston North, New Zealand
dmark@acsu.buffalo.edu (David Mark) (11/26/90)
In article <1990Nov26.005512.16482@massey.ac.nz> A.S.Chamove@massey.ac.nz (A.S. Chamove) writes: >I think a chickadee is what the rest of the rest of the world calls a Tit. > Of course, what Mr. Chamove probably meant was the rest of the _English_S Speaking_world_. But typical members of genus Parus are called chickadees in Canada, too, so they are "chicakdees" in predominantly-English-speaking countries totalling almost 300 million people, and "tits" in the UK (<< 100M). And it hardly seems relevant if they are referred to as "tits" in the antipodes, since they are not native there, nor introduced in Australia (are any Parus established in New Zealand). Incidentally, they are 'Mesanges*' in French, '-mees' in Dutch, '-meise' in German, and '-mes' in Swedish (compound names), which I guess is where the 'mouse' part comes from in the American term 'Titmouse' for crested members of Parus. * accent-acute sur le premier 'e' David Mark dmark@acsu.buffalo.edu
jespah@milton.u.washington.edu (Kathleen Hunt) (11/26/90)
From: dmark@acsu.buffalo.edu (David Mark) *>[this is me, Kathleen] *>And while I have your undivided attention :-), I would like to confirm *>differences in the "chick-a-dees". Seems that the black-cappeds, the ones *>I am most familiar with, have a full-bodied, rather deep "chick-a-dee-dee- *>dee-dee" usually with several throaty dee's. The chestnut-backed (the ones *>I am unfamiliar with since I never saw them back east) seem to be have *>higher voices and have a shorter call, just "chick-a-dee" with one dee, and *>the dee is sort of buzzy. Have I got that right? * *Just the opposite in my recollection. Chestnut-backs' "chick-a-dee" calls *are much deeper and "huskier" [especially on the UW campus :-)] *Chestnut-backs also more often do a "dee-dee-dee" without the leading "chick-a" *(in my recollection-- I live in Buffalo now, but grew up in Vancouver, BC). Whoa, now I *am* confused. I thought I had this right because: 1) the throaty "chick-a-dee" call, including the "dee-dee-dee" that is sometimes given without the introductory "chick-a", sounds *just* like the black-capped chickadees in Maine that I know. 2) I have a couple tapes of birds of the northwest, and the "chick-a-dees" on those tapes are as I described above. Could it be that we are simply describing the same thing differently? Or are the tapes wrong, and Seattle CBC's sound like Maine BCC's? Jespah
wvenable@spam.ua.oz.au (Bill Venables) (11/26/90)
In article <1990Nov26.005512.16482@massey.ac.nz> A.S.Chamove@massey.ac.nz (A.S. Chamove) writes: > > I think a chickadee is what the rest of the rest of the world calls a Tit. > Aha! So that's why W. C. Fields called Mae West "My little chickadee"! Sorry. Really, Sorry! I said I wouldn't do it again, but I lied. But honest, I won't do it again, promise... Gosh you learn a lot in this newsgroup, though. :-) -- Bill Venables, Dept. of Statistics, | Email: venables@spam.adelaide.edu.au Univ. of Adelaide, South Australia. | Phone: +61 8 228 5412
rcb33483@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (ArchTeryx) (11/27/90)
wvenable@spam.ua.oz.au (Bill Venables) writes: >In article <1990Nov26.005512.16482@massey.ac.nz> A.S.Chamove@massey.ac.nz >(A.S. Chamove) writes: >> >> I think a chickadee is what the rest of the rest of the world calls a Tit. >> >Aha! So that's why W. C. Fields called Mae West "My little chickadee"! >Sorry. Really, Sorry! >I said I wouldn't do it again, but I lied. >But honest, I won't do it again, promise... >Gosh you learn a lot in this newsgroup, though. :-) >-- Not to flame, but that's the oldest one in the birder's joke book. (At least, the implied pun is). And yes, chickadees are called tits in Europe. I believe it comes from Old English 'titr', which means small (BTW, 'titmouse' im America comes from 'titr mase' which means small bird). -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- R. Cody Buchmann ^.^ "Kehaar" "He tell *me* the plan...I *know* the email: rcb33483@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu plan!" -Watership Down. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
deby@cs.utwente.nl (Rolf de By) (11/27/90)
In article <WVENABLE.90Nov26075805@spam.ua.oz.au>, wvenable@spam.ua.oz.au (Bill Venables) writes: |> In article <11634@milton.u.washington.edu> jespah@milton.u.washington.edu |> (Kathleen Hunt) writes: |> |> > ... I have an awful hard time telling apart golden-crowned kinglets, |> > ruby-crowned kinglets, black-capped chickadees, and chestnut-backed |> > chickadees. |> |> Chikadees?? You mean there *IS* a real bird called a chikadee? I thought |> that was just something W. C. Fields used to call Mae West. |> |> Sorry. Go back to work. I won't do it anymore. :-) |> NO, NO, NO, do it more often, Bill. The best joke in months!! |> -- |> Bill Venables, Dept. of Statistics, | Email: venables@spam.adelaide.edu.au |> Univ. of Adelaide, South Australia. | Phone: +61 8 228 5412 -- Rolf A. de By Vakgroep Informatiesystemen Tel : (0)53--893753 Faculteit der Informatica b.g.g.: (0)53--893690 Universiteit Twente Fax : (0)53--339605 Postbus 217, 7500 AE Enschede Email : The Netherlands deby@henut5.bitnet